Parmanu is a Bollywood drama/thriller film starring John Abraham, Boman Irani and Diana Penty, directed by Abhishek Sharma and produced by Zee Studios, JA Entertainment and Kyta Productions. The film revolves around the 1998 bomb test explosions conducted by the Indian Army at Pokhran, Rajasthan under the leadership of Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam during PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s tenure. The film has opened to mixed reviews, but what had me most excited about the film (since the subject matter isn’t really the kind I like) was the music by Sachin-Jigar. Well, Sachin-Jigar and Jeet Gannguli, as I learned after the album released.

Sachin-Jigar April start the album off with a refreshing song Shubh Din, which follows the folksy Gujarati/Rajasthani template to the tee, but still manages to turn out as an entertaining number. They recreate their own ‘Aavi Re Hoon Aavi Re’ (from the Gujarati movie Carry On Kesar), and the song has a catchy instrumental loop after the hookline, which Sachin-Jigar have made sure, hooks the audience. The arrangements give the impression that the makers were going for something grander, but had to settle for less than what they intended. The folksiness doesn’t come out full-fledgedly as one would expect from Sachin-Jigar, but ends up sounding muffled. The vocals by Keerthi Sagathia and Jyotica Tangri are amazing though, as is Sachin-Jigar’s composition, so at least the song is entertaining for as long as it plays.
The next folksy number by Sachin-Jigar, Thare Vaaste, is like a patriotic recreation of their song ‘Chunar’ (ABCD 2), especially lyrically. Vayu Srivastava’s lyrics are aptly poignant and patriotic, but sadly, the composers’ tune doesn’t match up to that level; it fails to move the listener. The anthemic tune gets repetitive after some time, and though Divya Kumar does well in trying to make the song sound energetic, it is again the fault of the muffled-sounding arrangements, that the song doesn’t come to life as would be expected.Kasumbi, the best song of the album, also sees the duo follow the folksy template, but this time Vayu’s lyrics are Punjabi, in a film set in Rajasthan. This one starts off like another ‘Chunar’ spawn, but soon sets in as a moving patriotic number — the shehnaai is the most remarkable instrument used here; it harks back to the old patriotic songs. Again, the arrangements sound muffled here too (what’s with the poor programming throughout the album?) but Sachin-Jigar’s tune is so strong, it can be overlooked. Also, Divya Kumar gives an amazing performance, especially in that gem of a hookline. Vayu’s lyrics are beautiful, incorporating the word ‘Kasumbi’, which is probably the name for the saffron colour associated with patriotism in Gujarat and Rajasthan.
The last two songs composed by Sachin-Jigar in this album, have soothing tunes and less of a folksy impact than the previous songs. Sapna is the trademark Sachin-Jigar romantic melody (a la ‘Meet’ from ‘Simran’) in its composition, but the lyrics by Sachin Sanghvi are not romantic at all. Overall it is a pleasant listen, which Sachin-Jigar doing their signature method of repeating an instrumental loop after the hookline. (The loop in this song sounds a lot like the one in ‘Maana Ke Hum Yaar Nahin’ from “Meri Pyaari Bindu”). Arijit Singh is himself in the song, and carries it off like he carries off every song he’s ever carried off. The guitars are enjoyable and soothing, and the sarangi is beautiful, and the song itself is fortunately short — any longer and it would’ve been too long.
The last song by Sachin-Jigar, De De Jagah, is yet another in the same vein as ‘Sapna’, but this time, the lyricist (poet and politician Dr. Kumar Vishwas) complements it with romantic lyrics. What strikes me right away, yet again, is that something is wrong with the mixing, making Yasser Desai’s voice sound like it has been recorded on WhatsApp. Sachin-Jigar’s vibrant composition is one of the best of theirs over the period of 2016-2018, and Yasser Desai, barring the bad use of his vocals, tries to do his best, and succeeds fairly enough. The guitars and tablas complement each other surprisingly well, and the harmonium provides the soul in the song. The tune of the hookline is what will get you hooked to this song, just like songs traditionally are supposed to do.
Now, the reason I described that as Sachin-Jigar’s last song, is because there’s a kind of guest composer we have in the album; he has been waiting patiently for his turn, and I’m more than happy to talk about his song. The man in question in Jeet Gannguli, who has somehow bagged a romantic (read Mohit Suri-like sob-inducing) song in a movie like this. Jitni Dafa is one of those songs we have heard enough of in Bollywood, and I can’t believe the makers would proactively damage their own music album by including such a song in the album. It starts off painfully simple, and until those ‘Aashiqui 2’-ish beats start, it isn’t that painful, but when they do start, you keep waiting for the song to end. Rashmi-Virag write great lyrics, but hey, I’m quite sure John’s character in the film has time to weep like this at such a critical time and dire situation. And the singer is Yasser Desai, trying his best to be a mix of Mustafa Zahid, Arijit Singh, Saim Bhatt and Atif Aslam.

Parmanu has a soundtrack that mostly sticks to the point (barring that guest song) but something is definitely wrong with the arrangements; if they had been better mixed and mastered, the sound would’ve been grander and more enjoyable!

Phir Se… Is a Bollywood film starring Kunal Kohli and Jennifer Winget, directed by Kunal Kohli and Ajay Bhuyan, and produced by The Bombay Film Company. The film, originally slated for theatrical release in 2015, got postponed indefinitely due to legal issues, so the makes finally decided to release it this year directly in Netflix. The music is by Jeet Gannguli, who was quite active back in 2015, and so let’s see if the songs fall into his “superhit” category of songs or just sound dated!

The last time Jeet Gannguli composed in a Hindi film was so long ago, I can only guess and not tell with certainty (of course, without a quick search through my blog). So I guess it was ‘Raaz Reboot’ in September 2016. And I believe he composed only one song last year, in ‘Ranchi Diaries’. Now, this movie was slated to release in 2015, and ended up releasing on Netflix in 2018. So technically, he still hasn’t composed for a new film since ‘Raaz Reboot’, barring the single song he composed for ‘Ranchi Diaries’. It still makes me glad to hear his music again, for some reason, because it is always the same formula, but almost always works. So here goes!
The title track of Phir Se was released as a T-Series single sung by Amruta Fadnavis and Amitabh Bachchan. I immediately recognised the tune, But couldn’t place it and my friend (he knows who he is) immediately linked it to that song. Of course, this version is better, with Nikhil D’Souza and Shreya Ghoshal on vocals. The sultry tune, coupled with a saxophone arrangement makes it feel calming. A Remix by Sandeep Shirodkar, is passable, because I doubt it will be noticeable enough to be played in clubs and whatnot. The Sad Version too, wouldn’t have mattered even if it hadn’t been in the album.
The mukhda of the title track is used as the antara of Maine Socha Ke Chura Loon, a song whose delay probably led Jeet Gannguli to recycle it and use it as ‘Lo Maan Liya’ (Raaz Reboot). The composition is similar to that song at many places. Arijit does a great job, as he always does in a Gannguli composition, while Shreya barely gets time to make a difference. Arrangements are once again soothing.
The next half of the album consists of upbeat tracks, relatively. Mohit Chauhan leads both of them as the male vocalist, joined by Tulsi Kumar in one, and Monali Thakur and Shreya Ghoshal in the other. The Mohit-Tulsi combo works surprisingly well in Rozana, a song with a distinct early 2000s Kunal Kohli film sound. It would be be a surprise if Jatin-Lalit had composed this one. Jeet also uses the ‘Ladki Kyon’ guitar riff from ‘Hum Tum’ to hark back to the filmmaker’s film. The trio of Mohit, Monali and Shreya end up giving my favourite song of the soundtrack, Yeh Dil Jo Hai Badmaash Hai, an upbeat track with an amazingly catchy tune. Surprisingly enough, Monali is not overshadowed by Shreya as one would expect, but both get their part in the song. Mohit is wonderful as always in these types of songs.

Jeet’s three-year-old album still wouldn’t have changed if he would have tried to tweak it in 2017. I would expect the same thing from Jeet whether it is 2015 or 2020.

The Important Announcement

Due to the scarcity of time, from now on, I will sum up the entire month’s reviews in a set of two articles each month, one usually around the 15th of the month and the other towards the end. Of course, certain albums that I feel need a separate post (either because they might have many songs, or be spectacular albums, or even if the movies are highly awaited ones) I will do so for those albums. I will reveal the chosen album for this month — it’ll be “Secret Superstar” — I don’t guarantee it’ll be rated very high, but because of the buzz surrounding it, it requires a separate post, I feel! Meanwhile, the usual monthly awards posts will sum everything up once again at the end of every month in the form of awards. I really hope this format helps me balance my schedule! And I can’t wait to return to my normal long posts — till then enjoy your luck of getting to read short reviews from my side!!

October 2017 Round-Up

So this post will cover the reviews for the all but two of October releases that have already released — ‘Chef’ by Raghu Dixit & Amaal Mallik, ‘Tu Hai Mera Sunday’ by Amartya Rahut (Bobo), ‘Ranchi Diaries’ by Nickk, Jeet Gannguli, Tony Kakkar & Bobby-Imran, ‘Golmaal Again’ by Amaal Mallik, Thaman S., Lijo George-DJ Chetas & Abhishek Arora, and ‘Jia Aur Jia’ by Sachin Gupta, Nisschal Zaveri & Sameer Nichani. There will be separate reviews for ‘Secret Superstar’ and ‘Rukh’, both by Amit Trivedi.

Raghu Dixit starts off the album with Shugal Laga Le, a song having a heavy folk influence from Kerala. The backing vocalists provide that freshness associated with Kerala, and Raghu’s characteristic voice makes it all the more intriguing to listen to. In his arrangements too, he adds a dash of everything, and especially those percussions are mind blowing, along with the banjo. Ankur’s lyrics made me acquainted with a new phrase “Shugal Laga Le” meaning “find a hobby, or find something to do”. The next song by him is also reliant on folk music, this time Celtic/Irish. Banjaara is steeped heavily on the beautiful flutes that characterise Irish music, with amazing percussion and backing vocals yet again. Vishal Dadlani does great justice to the sing with those power-packed vocals. The song is one of those many motivational songs that Vishal gets to sing in Bollywood, except that this time, it has a whole new style to it. The mellow Darmiyaan, exudes a positivity in spite of the fact that it is a sad song — mostly because of Raghu’s ebullience. A splendid guitar backdrop makes it simple and sweet, and Raghu’s diction has to be lauded. Raghu takes forth the melancholia in a more Bollywood-ish way in Khoya Khoya, which I rank as the best of the album — underrated Shahid Mallya taking charge of the vocals in a very beautiful way, and Dixit’s composition has that old-world-charm to it. The sarangi is quite impressive here! The alternative rock set up will make this one loveable to many! Raghu’s last song on the album is the effervescent Tan Tan, rendered with spunk by Nikhita Gandhi, the only female vocalist on the album. In her texture, she gives off vibes of Shalmali and Shefali. Guest composer Amaal Mallik, whose song Tere Mere was also removed from the album later, produces a song you can immediately tell is by him. That doesn’t make its richness diluted, though — it’s still wonderful, with the nice dholak rhythm accompanying Armaan Malik’s beautiful voice. Also, Rashmi-Virag’s lyrics are amazing!
All in all, Chef is one of the best albums of the year in that it is a clever mix of melancholia, inspiration and romance. Raghu Dixit must sign more and more Bollywood films — I firmly believe that this is his best Bollywood album yet!

Total Points Scored by This Album (in the order mentioned in the review): 4 + 5 + 4 + 5 + 4.5 + 4 = 26.5

Out of Arijit’s two songs, the classically-steeped sad song Dhundlo Tum fares better, with an addictive strings orchestra accompanying it, and it quickly steers away from the Bhatt-ish genre that it starts off with. Had that continued, it wouldn’t have been half as good. The digital Sitar is beautiful. His other song, Thodi Si Jagah, is also classical-based for some initial parts, before it turns into an upbeat number that loses itself halfway through the song. The rock backdrop ofthe hook line couldn’t have been more clichéd. Arijit’s vocal prowess is clearly showcased in the song though. It is Amartya’s violin solo that impresses though, with its distinct classical tune. The title song, Tu Hai Mera Sunday, takes a pleasant Christmassy turn, with soft jazz making your ears happy. Shalmali renders it with a familiarity that makes you feel amazing. The brass portions have been done really well here, as are the drums. The clarinet and piano is wonderful too. It is nothing more than the lyrics that make it sound even more personal though. Ash King’s Yeh Mera Manis a pleasant departure from his previous song ‘Bandook Meri Laila’ (A Gentleman) and brings him back to his comfort zone. Again, a jazzy tune gives the song a kind of spring, and that whistle portion is so pleasantly surprising and charming, it is hard to dislike. The guitars are impressive here. Yeh Jo Pyaar Hai, a clubbish number sung by Nandini Srikar, is probably the weakest of the album, where the tune and the arrangement are just mismatched; the hookline sounds like this song was pitched for the situation of ‘Aaj Ki Raat’ (Don) before ‘Aaj Ki Raat’ was finalised.Amartya’s best album to date provides us with a nice mix of classical music, jazz music and a banal club number! This album will go highly underrated and unnoticed though!

Total Points Scored by This Album (in order mentioned in the review): 4.5 + 4 + 4 + 3.5 + 3 = 19

Some newcomer Nickk is — he has just been made to make another ‘Baby Doll’, now that Meet Bros. just be refusing to do it. However, Fashion Queen has something in addition to the usual ‘Baby Doll’ sequels — an Arabic strings backdrop that just helps it as much as a car can help you fly. The new singer Raahi seems disillusioned with the ideals that it is okay to sing like Kanika Kapoor if you aren’t her. The composer’s rap is dumb. Helicopter‘s lyricist and composer Tony Kakkar uses the word ‘helicopter’ as a metaphor for ‘getting high’. 😶 Siblings Tony and Neha render it with as much mediocrity as they can muster. I can’t believe Tony is the same guy behind ‘Saawan Aaya Hai’ (Creature 3D) and ‘Khuda Bhi’ (Ek Paheli Leela), but then he has made ‘Ek Do Teen Chaar’ (Ek Paheli Leela) and ‘Do Peg Maar’ (One Night Stand). Jeet Gannguli’s Thoda Aur is the composer’s usual pathos-filled romantic number — you would think that after a year-long break, he would return with something pleasant. But it is the same old Arijit-Palak love story. And the irony is that this song sounds like ‘Saawan Aaya Hai’ (Creature 3D). So did Tony help him here instead of making his own song better? 😏 The last song is a banal Mika solo Godfather, composed by Pritam’s former assistants Bobby-Imran, which I couldn’t even finish once when I started to listen to it.This is a Hodge-podge of the worst songs from the weirdest mix of composers ever.

The album to the much-awaited fourth instalment to the ‘Golmaal’ series starts with the Title Track, where South film composer Thaman S. is called in just to do that clichéd Kuthu rhythm we are all bored of. Brijesh Shandilya does well as the lead male singer, but Aditi Singh Sharma sounds utterly replaceable. She gets another song, Itna Sannata Kyun Hai, composed by Lijo George and DJ Chetas, where her part towers over her male co-singer Amit Mishra’s parts. The hookline is like a desperate scream in our ears, to make noise. The EDM after the hookline is so bad, I can’t describe it. Amaal Mallik, lead composer, gets two songs, where one is obviously a 90s remake. ‘Neend Churayi Meri’ (Ishq) is the privileged song, named by the company as Maine Tujhko Dekha. The song’s best part is that Neeraj Sridhar returns after a long time to sing a song that is tailor-made for his song. Sukriti Kakar complements him well, but the song is better as an individual song than it is as a remake. Had the hookline been original, it would have been amazing! Amaal’s second song happens to be the album’s best — Hum Nahi Sudhrenge gives those rays of positivity like ‘Apna Har Din’ did in ‘Golmaal 3’. Though the song is similar to Amaal’s other EDM numbers like “Sooraj Dooba Hai”, “Buddhu Sa Mann” and “Zindagi Aa Raha Hoon Main”, it works well because of its positivity and Armaan yet again sings charmingly! What Saregama holds of the album is an unplugged, slow-paced version of ‘Maine Pyaar Kiya’s Aate Jaate Hanste Gaate, sung very simply by Nikhil D’Souza and Anushka Manchanda, and arranged soothingly by Abhishek Arora (of Abhishek-Akshay) and Samyuktha Narendran. It doesn’t work too much though, in spite of not changing much from the old song.The worst Golmaal album is held up solely by Amaal’s songs (or song).

The songs by Sachin Gupta start off the album, and though they do not impress you immediately, you do get attuned to them on hearing them for a couple of times. Na Shukre is a wild rock song about carefree girls, and Smita Malhotra makes a rocking debut with her vocals in this, the rock guitars played wonderfully. Shivani Bhayana’s Naach Basanti, on the other hand, is a bit too rowdy to go with its amazing club arrangements, but apparently by the lyrics, it is supposed to be some sort of an ode to “Sholay”. Many of the small additions by Gupta in this song happen to catch your attention, like the techno sounds at the beginning, and the folksy portion at the end.
The newcomer composer, Nisschal Zaveri, steps in for the rest of the songs (with lyrics) and I must say, he does quite an amazing job in his first album itself. His lullaby-ish, classical-based Na Jaa appears in two versions, one in Asees Kaur’s voice, with a stark resemblance to her singing in ‘Kaari Kaari’ (Dobaara), while the other is in Nandini Srikar’s voice. Obviously, Nandini’s version wins my heart because of her seasoned voice and more classically inclined singing. The Tabla in this song has to be mentioned, as do the strings, guitars and mandolin. The arrangements overpower the voice of Asees in her version, another drawback of that version. Nandini’s version has everything that the music buff longs for in a good song.
Zaveri’s other song, released by Saregama, is a reprise of Shankar-Jaikishan-Mohd. Rafi classic Jia O Jia, and is an apt remake of the song, with an upbeat clubbish sound, one of the freshest remakes I’ve heard this year. The song feels like a splash of water on your face — despite being a remake, Zaveri uses his creativity to make it a bit unconventional, without being bogged down by the thought of what’s popular these days. The synth has been used amazingly, and the backing chorus singing “Jia O” after every hook is just sweet! Jyotica sounds amazing in this song, the least she has sounded like Neha Kakkar ever! But Rashid Ali, being heard after a long time, falls flat due to the excessive programming done to his voice. The Latino turn of sound midway into the song takes time to get used to, but is awesome!
The background score composer for the film, Sameer Nichani, gets one of his instrumental pieces added to the album, and it is called Jia Aur Jia Theme, and is heavy on Spanish guitars, played in a very sensuous way. It is extremely short at one and a half minute, but soothes your senses for all its worth.A hidden gem of an album, wherein we find a new composer who must get many, many more songs in Bollywood!! Zaveri scores higher than Gupta here.

Remake Counter:

I hope that wasn’t too long (though I know it was) but this is what I’m going to have to do until I am a bit more free. I personally liked this method of reviewing and don’t mind continuing it forever too! So maybe, just maybe, you might get the “Secret Superstar” and “Rukh” reviews in this format too, but in separate posts and not clubbed together! Lets see! Till then, enjoy music! 😉

Raaz Reboot is an upcoming Bollywood horror film, and the fourth installment of the ‘Raaz’ franchise. The movie stars Emraan Hashmi, Gaurav Arora (‘Love Games’ fame), and débutante Kriti Kharbanda. The movie is directed by Vikram Bhatt and produced by Mukesh Bhatt, Bhushan Kumar and Krishan Kumar. Of course somebody is possessed by an evil spirit and Emraan Hashmi loves that someone and all those clichés of a Bollywood horror-romance starrign Emraan Hashmi, must be there in the film. Who cares about the story though, when the music is the highlight? Music is definitely the highlight of a Bhatt film, and though I keep mocking it in some of my other reviews, I have to admit that sometimes, the songs are very beautiful. The third ‘Raaz’ movie had a wonderful soundtrack by Jeet Gannguli, and guest composer Rashid Khan had also composed (or ‘copied’) a wonderful song. This time too, things are quite like the last time. Jeet Gannguli is in charge of the full album, consisting of six tracks (three original songs, with one of those having two versions and one more having three, so 3+2+1=6) and guest composers are Sangeet-Siddhartha Haldipur, with one track. Jeet Gannguli has been impressing on and off this year, his last memorable song being the wonderful ‘Dekha Hazaro Dafaa’ (Rustom), while Sangeet-Siddharth gave a good album to ‘Love Games’ earlier this year, which was highly impressive and innovative. So, I expect some good things from these two, and hopefully, they give a good reboot to the ‘Raaz’ series!

Jeet starts off the album with a song that evokes memories of Bhatt songs that have been entertaining us for the last two decades. This song is a perfect blend of the Bhatts’ sound in the 2000s as well as this decade. Jeet’s composition is something that instantly gets you hooked to it, despite the fact that it is oh-so-clichéd! The mukhda is something that sounds so sweet even in all its painfulness, and you immediately start humming it after the song is over. Making a successful typical melpdy is an art that Jeet seems to have mastered over the years. The song is reminiscent of his own ‘Dard’ (Sarbjit) in one line of the mukhda, (“ayyee yaar zara humko”) and it is also my favourite line from the song, composed beautifully. The hookline lies in the mukhda itself, and I’ve already said how catchy it is. The antara, however, takes the song to a whole new level. It is composed in a very 90s-ish manner. The haunting feel of the rest of the song flees away in this part, and a sweet and lovable tune sets in, until the hookline comes back. It kind of reminded me of the title track of ‘Khamoshiyan’ which was composed in the same style (a haunting mukhda followed by a sweet antara). Jeet aces the arrangements, with those ever-so-loyal guitar and flutes of his stealing the show. The beats in the rest of the song are quite ordinary, but work in favour of the song. The assortment of flutes play this sweet, but haunting hook tune, which always makes you feel awesome when it plays. However, the star of the song has to be the singer this time. I know how many times I’ve joked about Arijit singing songs from the one-thousand-and-fofty-eighth installment of the ‘Raaz’ franchise, but I’ve got to give it to him; he sings these songs perfectly! His voice has the right mix of sweetness, innocence and instensity with which to render this composition. The way he sings my favourite line of the song (which I pointed out above), is fantastic! And the first line of the antara!! He sings that so wonderfully! No wonder the nation is crazy after him. The lyrics seem like they’re written with the very harsh intention of hurting somebody with the taunt that they don’t remember you, and neither do you remember them. 😂 It’s a perfect song to sing when you’re mad at someone and want to taunt them or vice versa. Jokes apart, Kausar (after a long time; last she wrote were some songs in ‘Laal Rang’, I believe) writes lyrics suitable to the dard-judaai-with-a-bhoot-interfering theme! 🙂 A perfect kick start to the album; something Jeet is known for, and he delivers it perfectly once again!!#5StarHotelSong!!

The title song comes up next, with the maestro of title songs, Jeet Gannguli, behind it. The composer goes to new lengths to make this composition worth listening on loop. Keeping the haunting theme of the movie in mind, this song is perfectly composed. The composition once again, is very typical and heard-before, yet we can’t help but develop a liking towards it. In fact, it is a remake of Jeet’s Bengali song ‘Ki Kore Bolbo Tomay’ (from the movie ‘Ki Kore Toke Bolbo’) Once again, Jeet takes the help of a haunting mukhda to attract the audience, while the antara calms things down with a very charming and calm tune. This song perfectly blends together the horror and romance in the movie. Though not as hooking and gripping as ‘Lo Maan Liya’, it still manages to grab your attention, and there is nothing missing as such in the composition. The arrangements are not extraordinary, yet appeal to the listener. The guitars play the main role in making this happen. They’ve been played in a very Latin/Spanish way and are very attractive. The song starts with the hookline playing on a violin, which is a perfect haunting start to the song. The violin comes back to amaze us in the first interlude, while the piano takes over in the second interlude, only to be followed by a whole orchestra of strings. But again, the guitar is the central focus throughout the song. Arijit sings this one with a more hoarse throat, probably to get that horrorific expression in the song. He sings this one with just as prowess as he did the first, though both songs are composed with different tones altogether. The lyrics by Rashmi-Virag are also good for the song and haunting, but nothing beyond that. Another stellar title song by Jeet Gannguli! However much I may be teasing such songs, I must admit I loved this one!!#5StarHotelSong!!

Here come guest composers Sangeet-Siddharth with their only song on the soundtrack. The song starts off in a very heavenly, blissful way with flutes luring the listener in. The flutes are so beautiful, that you expect nothing but a wonderful song to ensue. Unfortunately, things don’t turn out quite so good. The composers try to concoct a composition that would enforce listeners to hear it repeatedly on loop, but fail miserably because of the pitiful commonplace treatment. The composition starts off well in the mukhda, but almost immediately loses its charm in the hookline, because the line before it (‘Tere bina aadhe bhi kya, tere bina adhoore kya’) evokes memories of the duo’s song ‘Mohabbat’ from ‘Love Games’, and this time the tune doesn’t work. The hookline itself isn’t hooking. The antara takes things uphill once again, but doesn’t manage to keep it there sadly. The irony here is that, this song doesn’t sound typical at all, but fresh (not like the usual Bhatt song), but the composer miss the opportunity to make it noteworthy and extraordinary. The arrangements are quite applause-worthy, with some very calming and charming sounds interspersed throughout the song, like those wonderful xylophonic sounds, and the entertaining guitar riffs. The flute, of course, remains the star of the song. The strings also help elevate the ordinary composition. The first interlude is a wonderful, dreamy one, played on the mandolin, I suppose. The vocals by K.K., will manage to attract listeners to an extent, but they don’t really go out of their way to impress you. The only reason he’s the perfect choice for this song is that soothing texture of his voice. Lastly, the lyrics by Kausar too, are nothing special, but very typical of romantic songs. A decent attempt to make a lilting, dreamy romantic song, but the composition turns out to be flat and dull. Sangeet-Siddharth fail to live up to the great expectations they created after ‘Love Games’.

A haunting, yet sweet piano loop starts off Jeet’s next song, and before you know it, you are sucked into a whirlpool of Jeet’s lilting and dreamy composition. Now this song is something very, very innovative from the composer. Being the last original song on the album, it definitely wins the race in being the best song of the album right away. Once you hear the composition, you would never forget it for quite some time. Jeet once again builds the hookline into the mukhda itself, so that the hookline starts the song. And this line is what sucks you into this dreamy experience. The antara, too, is something that calms you down as well as haunts you in a very unusually pleasant way! The real magic is in the arrangements, and the vast difference between the two versions of the song. In the first version, Arijit sings along very Celtic arrangements, complete with the claps and strings (played in a very Celtic-sounding tune). Jeet orchestrates the strings so well, that it seems to have been taken right out of some classical European song! And those claps!! All throughout the song, claps infuse that pleasant quality into the song; quite an innovative beat, if you ask me. The flute in the second interlude has been played oh-so-wonderfully, again in a Celtic manner. Arijit himself excels in the song, and though it is his third song in the very same album, I am not as much frustrated as I am awestruck at his voice! This time, pure romance displays itself in his voice. In the also-very-innovative unplugged version, Jubin gets to sing along the backdrop of a very, very weirdly attractive guitar arrangement. When you hear this arrangement of this song, you’ll be shocked that Jeet could have thought of such a thing! The way the guitars constantly keep the beat, but go off tune once in a while so randomly, is so unconventional. While hearing this song, I could see a cowboy sitting on a stack of hay on a lazy Sunday with his banjo, and singing this song! 😀 Jubin, too, sings wonderfully, and the humorous arrangements complement him well. Kausar excels in her writing here. The lyrics are simple, but sweet and heart-touching. Some very innovative stuff from Jeet, Arijit, Jubin & Kausar! Both versions are fabulous, and will definitely get you swaying to the beat. Both versions are#5StarHotelSongs!!

The next song is a short reprise of the title track; this time meant as an aftermath-of-separation song. The composition is exactly the same as the title track, which was very impressive, keeping the horror theme in mind. Here too, it suits as a judaai song, but other things aren’t in place here. This time, Arijit is replaced by Papon, who sings the melody with emotion, but just doesn’t suit here as much as Arijit did in the original. He is complemented by Palak, who takes charge of the antara, and sings it beautifully, surprisingly. 😀 The arrangements too, are the same as those of the original. However, the lyrics have been changed to suit a sad romantic theme, and everything goes haywire. The lyrics are too simple to be appreciated, and also sound too melodramatic. A reprise of the title track which just doesn’t work as well!

The album ends with a song perfectly suiting the horror theme of the movie. This song is also a reprise of the title track, and it takes the mukhda of the song in a very slow pace, making it suit the horror theme even more. The arrangements are nothing but haunting sounds like the wind blowing very creepily. Jubin’s voice is perfect for the song, as he sings each note with this heavy, haunting air. There’s pretty much nothing else to say about this one except that it is such a good background music piece and also a#5StarHotelSong!!

Raaz Reboot surprisingly turns out to be an album which doesn’t bore even though it follows the typical clichés of a Bhatt album. Jeet comes up with a good compilation of his songs for this movie, while the guest duo Sangeet-Siddharth doesn’t really live up to expectations. All in all, the album is enjoyable and cherishable, and not just something to be used for publicity, as it would live on longer than that. After years of observation, I finally believe that the raaz (secret) to the Bhatts’ success, is recycling the bhoot! (Ghost) And this reboot works by recycling the bhoot!

Rustom is an upcoming Bollywood mystery/drama film starting Akshay Kumar, Ileana D’Cruz, Esha Gupta and Arjan Bajwa. The movie is directed by ‘1920 London’ director Tinu Suresh Desai, and produced by Neeraj Pandey, Aruna Bhatia, Nittin Keni, Akash Chawla, Virender Arora, Ishwar Kapoor and Shital Bhatia. The film is based of the life of Naval Officer K.M. Nanavati. The film has a pretty long 10-track album, with four composers working together to make it so big. The first of these four is Arko Pravo Mukherjee, a composer whose heartbreaking as well as heat-touching song ‘Saathi Rey’ from ‘Kapoor & Sons (Since 1921)’ is still on my playlist, being the wonderfully sweet and emotional song that it is. Arko has two songs in the album, of which the second is actually a reprise of the first. Next up on the composers list is Raghav Sachar, who has been out of the picture for quite some time; I remember his last outing as a remake of a pop song in ‘Alone’, in which he didn’t quite impress. Here, he has been given charge of four songs, out of which two are versions of the first, and the fourth is the instrumental of that. 😂 Hopefully, these versions are entertaining songs!! Third on the list, is Ankit Tiwari, who surprisingly hasn’t disappointed completely this year, though going into déjà vu mode, but not giving too bad songs. His last song happens to be ‘Ishqe Di Lat’ (Junooniyat) which I loved loved loved. So hopefully, his two songs in the album are just as GREAT! Last is the most experienced of the lot, Jeet Gannguli, who let us down with one of his two songs in his last outing, ‘Junooniyat’, but hopefully, his two songs here are just as lovely as that one was disappointing! 😀 So, with verrrrry high hopes, let’s start off the analysis of the ‘Rustom’ album!!

Arko gets to open the album, with a calm and dulcet, and endearing, though templatised melody. We’ve seen what a great combination Arko and Akshay Kumar have made in the past with that unforgettable song, ‘Meherbaani’ (The Shaukeens). This time too, Arko weaves magic with a wonderful melody, one that definitely isn’t something innovative or something we haven’t heard before, but still, is so sweet and lovable, that you just feel wonderful and fresh. The composition is not so complicated, as Arko has kept it sweet and simple — which is his speciality. It starts off with Atif singing a calm couplet, which paves way for the actual melody, a tune carried high by its pillars of simplicity. The mukhda hooks you instantly, and you can feel the romance infused into it. The innocence of the song is in the tune. The antara is quite well-composed too, having all the qualities of a good antara — maintained continuity, catchiness and of course something that makes you want to hear it again and again. In the original version ‘Tere Sang Yaara’, Arko has orchestrated it with wonderful violins and guitars too, but the highlight is of course, the piano, something that is a key part of Arko’s arrangements. The flute soothes you too, while the digital beats sound quite templatised, but nevertheless, work in favourite of the song. In the reprise, ‘Tere Bin Yaara’, Arko cranks the arrangements down, making them hit you with a less force. The arrangements are mostly the same, just that they are less prominent, and the beats do not stand out as much, and especially the hookline has been unplugged-ised. This version too, is a calming and soothing version, almost equal to the original. The vocals in the first version, by Atif are beautiful and a very important part in making the song sound so good. Arko, however, with his less-polished vocals, steals your heart away anyway, in his reprise version. Manoj Muntashir’s lyrics for the first version are good as well, though a bit templatised, and have been adapted by Arko very well, for the reprise version. Overall, the song is a great start to the album. In all its simplicity and innocence, it is a#5StarHotelSong!!

Raghav Sachar presents the next song of the album, in not less than four versions! We’ve heard Pritam giving four versions of ‘Afghan Jalebi’ in his album to ‘Phantom’, and now Raghav Sachar follows with the title song of ‘Rustom’, in as many as four versions! Of course, excited as I was to check them out, I did wonder if they were all necessary! 😀 Anyway, that comes later. First, the review. So Raghav has composed an awesome, hard-hitting, theme song, with mysterious undertones, resembling the 80s era wonderfully. The jazz/disco touch has been given wonderfully. The composition actually hooks you onto the song. It is sweetness delivered in a sinister package. The composition seems sweet, but has dark hints scattered throughout. Especially the line “Pyaar toh pyaar hai, chaahe jaise mile”, is wonderfully mysterious. Songs from movies like ‘Don’ (the old one) and ‘Shaan’, instantly come back to you a after hearing this one, and you can just imagine an Asha Bhosle or an Usha Uthup crooning it in those days, while Parveen Babi gyrates to it. A very similar infectiousness is spread all over the song. Raghav makes sure we the listeners, have the best possible experience while listening to it, as he tries to recreate the 80s. (Though the film is set in the 60s. 😛 But who cares!) The arrangements help the song throw us back into that era. The saxophone being the highlight of the song, has been played very energetically and it is so catchy! Techno beats, like disco, work to make the song sound actually retro. Occasional piano and the unceasing drums just infuse more energy into the song. And now, coming to the vocals. In the main female version, Sukriti manages to bring in that sinister undertone in her voice, and hits the bullseye with all the notes that jump frantically here and there. In the Marathi version and Male version, Jasraj Joshi infuses just as much energy, but the song doesn’t sound as good in a male voice as it does in a female voice! Personally, I feel that the Marathi version was unnecessary, and it must’ve been added to increase the reach of the movie! (By the way, how can you INCREASE the reach of an Akshay Kumaar movie!???!!) The arrangements of the Marathi and Male versions are exactly the same, while the theme is a very short piece of music — but with a very spunky arrangement. The lyrics of the song have been penned well by Manoj Muntashir, describing the shady character very well, while Mandar Cholkar seems to falter a bit with the Marathi lyrics — they seem pretty forced! An electrifying title track, and a very commendable job by Raghav Sachar! Kudos to Sukriti for mastering the vocals!! Her version is definitely a#5StarHotelSong!!

A melodic piano piece very dulcetly lures you into the other song. After the energizing title song, the song comes as a pleasant surprise. The piano gives way to Ankit’s voice, who surprisingly sounds the very least bit autotuned in this song! The soulfulness of it all just shocked me. As I have been liking/loving Ankit’s songs throughout the year, this one really doesn’t surprise me much, but nevertheless, I’m blown away by the majestic and opulent orchestration, composition and great vocals. The composition by Ankit is so deep and layered and touching, that it barely takes seconds for it to work its magic on you. The mukhda opens up quite like any other Ankit Tiwari song, but it is when the first time the “Maujood hai…” hook plays, that you can gauge the magnificence and grandeur of it all. The antara has been composed just as wonderfully, with Tiwari minding to use contrasting low notes. Contrasting because the hook was oh-so-high-pitched. And the tune of the low notes, is just so dazzling! It sounds like a Rahman antara, in fact! The next bewitching thing about the song, are the arrangements! Sumptuous as they sound, they make you feel very simple, happy and just plain good! Especially in the hookline, those wonderful strings are tooooooooo grand to keep away the goosebumps. Tiwari even uses drums, something that sounds odd in such a song, but here, works in its favour! And then there’s the wonderful arrangement in the antara, devoid of any instruments except a wonderful piano that plays around the words so cutely. There’s a great digital beat supporting the tune as well, which is what makes it sound oh-so-Rahmanish! Ankit’s voice is very enchanting, and is one of the main reasons the song has turned out so hauntingly beautiful. Manoj Muntashir also, writes beautiful lyrics, complementing the enchanting composition very well. A spectacular song composed and sung by Ankit, with the arrangements playing a vital role in propelling it so much!#5StarHotelSong!!

Jeet Gannguli steps into the album next, with a cute and lovely little waltz. The composer has got everything right with this one, right from the ballroom waltz-y composition, that sounds so retro and lovable, to the arrangements, that are bliss to the music lover. Firstly, the composition. It is something that instantly makes you love it. There is no intermediate step. You either hate it (which you won’t!) or love love love it. And I love love loved it. Right from the first time I heard it, the simple yet grand tune won my heart over, and couldn’t leave my head thereafter. The mukhda is scintillatingly calming and charming, while the antara is beautifully structured to keep the charm intact. While hearing the song, I actually thought that if ‘Cinderella’ were to be remade in Hindi, this song would be perfect. Jeet has wonderfully brought in the ballroom melody and makes the song sound so innocent and sweet. The arrangements are beautiful too, with the strings doing their job right from the beginning. The way the low and high strings alternate with each other, is something worth noticing, and also something that is likely to be missed. The flute adds to the sugar and dreamy ambience. In the antara, after the first line, Jeet has put this EXTRAORDINARY violin solo, which is soooooo charming! The way it has been played, briskly, is what makes it sound so charming! (Hear it at 1:20 or 2:27 in the song, don’t thank me later! 😉 ) The chimes and the very European-ish choir add to the ballroom ambience. Of course, a ballroom song is incomplete without the piano, and Jeet makes sure the piano makes some appearance in the song, too. All in all, the orchestration is as dreamy and angelic as it can get. Ever. I mean, the last time I heard such opulent and magnificent ballroom orchestration was in ‘Nazdeekiyan’ (Shaandaar), which was a gem! On the vocals front, Arijit with his calm voice sounds so sweet and innocent, while Palak complement beautifully. Though at first, Palak seems an odd choice, it all fits in perfectly after a couple of listens. Manoj’s lyrics are so sweet, that if you sum the sweetness of the song all up, the chances of getting diabetes are as high as the Burj Khalifa! Of course, such a sweet song can be no less than a5StarHotelSong!!

Now it’s time for the sad song of the album. Jeet Gannguli, an expert at sad songs in my opinion, gets to helm it. However, the song turns out to be a great disappointment. Jeet resorts to his usual Vishesh Films-ish template to convey the sadness. The composition is typical Jeet Gannguli, with a strong Vishesh Films undertone to it. Right from the beginning, you feel that either you have accidentally started playing the ‘Raaz 28362’ (and I won’t be surprised if so many ‘Raaz’ films do get made!) album, instead of ‘Rustom’. The hookline is the typical melodrama we get to hear in Bhatt films. And there I am, in a pickle, trying to understand where the Bhatts came into the 1960s. The arrangements are digital beats mostly, and do not really stand out much. Jubin’s vocals a quite good, and give you a reason to hear the song, while Aakanksha sounds strictly forced at places and cute at places. Jubin basically carries the song on his shoulders, a song which is otherwise a yawn fest for me! Manoj’s lyrics too, stick to the conventions of modern Bollywood. After the four good and suitable songs, here comes an oddball that brothers fits here, nor is catchy or exciting. Even if it were in ‘Raaz 28362’, I wouldn’t have liked it!

Ankit Tiwari gets to close the album, and after that majestic song of his, all I expected was an even better song. Imagine my happiness when I get to know the song has been sung by none other than today’s nightingale Shreya Ghoshal. Naturally, my heart jumped with joy. And Ankit, with a tranquilizing and pacifying composition, satiates my desire for a great song. His composition, yet again, is very emotional and layered, with shades difficult to unravel right away. The hookline is very, very calm, as is the rest of the song. In this song, the sadness and emotion actually works, unlike the hollow emotion of the previous song. Ankit masters the composition, which is very slow-paced, but keeps you listening. (If you’re a lover of calm music, that is) The calming notes really touch your heart and make you feel loved and cared. Coming to the arrangements, they are pretty minimal, until the interlude. The initial part of the song is graced by piano, strings and acoustic guitars, out of which each excels in its place, particularly the piano. The interlude brings with it, a wonderful blend of strings of different kinds, producing a wonderful symphonic ambience. The second stanza is more accentuated with strings and the guitars are louder too. It is so beautiful how the arrangements open up towards the end, just as the singer does. And that brings us to the vocals. When it is Shreya Ghoshal, it is highly impossible for vocals to go wrong, and here too, it is displayed very beautifully. Even though the composition is so slow and the arrangements minimal, her voice makes you get hooked to the song. She sings each note with a certain innocence and beauty. Manoj’s lyrics are touching, and the song gets raised higher due to them. Ankit weaves even more magic with his second song, and Shreya helps us end the album on a very calm and emotional note.#5StarHotelSong!!

Rustom is yet another example of a mulicomposer album done right. Here, four composers come together to make an album that seems very fulfilling as a whole. Yes, there are some glitches as well, in that the makers seem to have crammed too many unnecessary versions of the good songs into the album, and also tried to increase the taker count of the album by adding a modernized number that just doesn’t work. However, the songs that go with the theme of the movie, perform really well and help in making the album a success. The surprise package is Ankit, who stuns with his two glorious songs, songs that I would never forget. However, the winner is our very own Jeet who makes a song that is so sugar-coatedly sweet, that if it had to be sold as a toffee, the whole world would have got diabetes. All in all, ‘Rustom’ is an album that is going to stay with you for quite some time! I would say “sab jeete yahaan, hain ‘Rustom’ yehi”!!

Junooniyat (meaning: passion)is an upcoming Bollywood romatic comedy starring Pulkit Samrat and Yami Gautam in the lead roles. The film is directed by Vivek Agnihotri and produced by T-Series. Looking at the star cast instantly reminds me of the disaster called ‘Sanam Re’, which had pretty decent music, barring two to three tracks. Here, one of the composers from ‘Sanam Re’ is retained — Jeet Gannguli, with two tracks out of the six in the album. Meet Bros. Anjjan (the music was composed before the split) lead the soundtrack with three tracks, while Ankit Tiwari takes up the rear with one song. Hoping for some good music as this is a T-Series album, is natural. Also, the romantic genre is like an assurance for at least three to four super hit songs. So expecting that, as well. 😀 Let’s see what ‘Junooniyat’ has to offer!

Meet Bros. Anjjan get to open up the album with a dance party number, that is sure to climb the charts. Techno sounds are the quintessential start to these songs, and the brass instruments carry it forward. Meet Bros. sing an English intro to the song, until Tulsi kicks in with a totally different avatar. Meet Bros. Anjjan have taken StereoNation’s pop song ‘Nachange Saari Raat’ and remade it in a completely Bollywood manner. When they had remade ‘High Heels’ (Ki & Ka) I was really impressed, as they had completely transformed the whole song. However, this time, they have done a very typical remake — with the hookline being the same as the original and then composing some lines trying to match that line. And that is what makes the composition faulty here. It lacks the spunk that must be infused into such party numbers and turns put sounding pretty ordinary, just like the trio almost always did! (I personally liked most of Meet Bros’ work when they became a duo). The mukhda and antaras sound very outdated, something like ‘been there heard that’. The hookline is the only thing that sounds good, and that too, only in Neeraj’s voice. Tulsi seems to have tried too hard to sound different. It sounds good for the first few listens, but sounds irritating later on. Aditi Singh Sharma or Neha Kakkar would’ve been a better choice, in my opinion. Neeraj infuses the energy into the song. Arrangements too play as a savior, with the groovy club beats and brass instruments. Meet Bros. join in for a daaru-centred rap in the second interlude, which is a regular in club songs these days. Kumaar’s lyrics, too, are ordinary party song lyrics, stuff we got bored of in 2010, but Bollywood won’t until 2847. A decent attempt to make us dance all night, but just a temporary obsession. In the long run, it will be tough for this song to survive. A weak start to the album!

The next song brings in Jeet Gannguli, who has roped in T-Series’ latest obsession, Armaan Malik, to sing it. The song is your everyday romantic song with powerful rock guitars, trying to wail out all the romance in five minutes, just to have the lead couple break up after some time in the movie. Jeet’s composition is not exactly boring, but it isn’t anything great, either. First of all, the hookline is very flat, and doesn’t really appeal like a hookline should. When they say “jaana” at the end of the hookline, it seems like a very abrupt end, and sounds odd. The mukhda is the hookline itself, so you can see where that’s heading. The antara, starting off softly, and ending with the loud hookline, is not so impressive either. All in all, the composition is what too bland and tasteless. After ‘Milne Hai Mujhse Aayi’ (Aashiqui 2), Jeet tries another rock-styled romantic ballad, but doesn’t actually get where he had in that song. He has also tried to make Armaan sing as dynamically as Arijit had in that song, but it sounds like he is merely copying Arijit with a bit of K.K. occasionally. Armaan does do quite a good job though, considering how ordinary the song is. In the arrangements, too, nothing appeals except an awesome saxophone by Raj Sodha which plays many times in the song. Everything else is the normal electric guitars, drums and whatnot. Rashmi-Virag, too, can’t save the song, probably giving one of their most ordinary songs of all. A song which is so ordinary, that you sit through it with a straight face. Disappointing work from Jeet, Armaan and Rashmi-Virag! The second consecutive typical song of the album…

The third and last composer, Ankit Tiwari steps in with the third song on the soundtrack. This time, I have huge hopes from him, what with him recently showing some great versatility in ‘Sehra’ (Do Lafzon Ki Kahani) and his single song ‘Badtameez’ which was out and out metal! And boy, he impresses and how!! Something I was waiting for from Ankit for a long, long time — a romantic song which doesn’t use all the same notes as all his other songs, something that doesn’t fall right into the category of ‘nighttime songs’. Something that will force me to play it over and over again. The last time he gave such a romantic song before ‘Sehra’, was all the way back in January 2015 — ‘Katra Katra’ (Alone). This time, he goes way ahead of anything he has done before. The song starts off with an acoustic guitar and harmonica combination, and then Ankit starts off with something that won’t really disclose anything about the magic that’s about to follow. At the first glance, it seems like any other Ankit song, a slow and dreamy melody. But it is when the Qawwali sets in, that I get swept away. Ankit has experimented a lot, using a fusion of Qawwali and Spanish arrangements. The hookline is arranged completely on Qawwali instruments. The tablas have been played tooooooo impressively, and it sounds even better than ‘Sanam Re’ title song or ‘Jeena Marna’ (Do Lafzon Ki Kahani), because the rhythm is way more catchy and innovative. Spanish guitars help in making the arrangements sound more dreamy and lilting. Strings and rock guitars also impress highly. I felt that these were one of Ankit’s best ever arrangements. The composition too, is way more than just an ordinary Ankit Tiwari composition. It is very matured and livelier than those others too. Also, the good, long length is like a bonus for us listeners. With two antaras having the same soulful and melodious tune, and the mukhda playing again once at te end, the song is nice and long, and cherishable. It isn’t like all those other good songs that end before they start. 😀 On the vocals front, Ankit seems to be very less autotuned, which I’m happy about. At the same time, Tulsi sounds like herself and sounds very beautiful. In the mukhda, her low pitch voice could’ve been avoided, though. Manoj Muntashir’s lyrics are beautiful as always, and Ankit brought them to life very effectively with such a great composition. A Spanish-Qawwali-rock fusion that works really effectively in engaging the listener right away. A strong hook really works, doesn’t it? Though it’s pretty deep into the soundtrack, here is ‘Junooniyat’s first#5StarHotelSong!!

Meet Bros. Anjjan come back into the album with their second song, which happens to be the title song. The song starts off on a grand note, with a very magnificent strings orchestra, and a wonderful backing chorus. The composition is not actually a typical Bhatt-ish one, either. However, it does sound like something that would sound good in one of those films. The trio has done a very good job trying to infuse as much grandeur in the song as possible, so as to make it sound more enchanting. And it works. The composition, for one, is very imposing; I wasn’t expecting such a heavy composition for the title song of this movie. However, it turns out to be quite heavy, and also takes quite a few listens to completely grow on you. The hookline may seem overdramatic at first, but later on, you get accustomed to it, and it sounds mesmerizing. So mesmerizing, that it won’t leave your head. The mukhda isn’t instantly likable, but sounds great after a few listens. Same goes with the antara. It sounds very typical at first, but after repeated listening, you get the beauty hidden in it. It has been composed on very high notes, and Falak beautifully renders the composition, with its numerous variations. The arrangements are as grand as grand can be. The backing vocalists do their best to make the song sound enchanting, and they succeed. The strings play an important role in infusing magic into the song. Electric guitars and some great percussion lead the song into the category of ‘heavily instrumentated, but sweet sounding songs’. The orchestration is something we have never heard from Meet Bros. Anjjan. The cello and violins have been played so very beautifully. The haunting composition also helps in making the song sound appealing. Flute in the first interlude soothes you down, while electric guitars in the second interlude make you feel more energetic. The whole arrangements somehow reminded me of the music of movies set in Kashmir — ‘Fanaa’, ‘Haider’, ‘Fitoor’ and the like; it was so grand. Falak’s vocals are par excellence. I’ve never heard Falak sing in such a dynamic manner, and I must say, he sings mighty well!! Kumaar has written typical romantic Bhatt-ish lyrics, but the grand composition makes them sound great. They suit the theme of the song. Meet Bros. Anjjan at their best! A Mithoon-styled composition, that is heavy and haunting, but appealing at the same time. The imposing orchestration makes it seems all the more grand, and Falak renders it beautifully. Special mention for the beautiful backing vocalists!#5StarHotelSong!!

The lead trio, MBA, end their part of the album with a crazy, wacky, insane holi song. Again, this song doesn’t appeal right away, but after a few times of hearing it, it appeals to you and you sstart praising it. The song starts with a crazy flute, in a South-flavoured rhythm, followed by a weird techno sound that is so catchy. The same tune is later played on a shehnaai, and you know that nothing but craziness follows. The trio has composed a zany but immensely catchy song, something that I normally would expect from Pritam or Rahman or Vishal-Shekhar or Sachin-Jigar or Amaal Mallik, too. The trio succeeds in making a composition with numerous twists and turns, tempo changes and weird variations. The craziness doesn’t go overboard, like it does sometimes (‘Housefull 3’), nor does it fall short. It is just right and that is why it sounds good. The dappankuthu rhythm sounds great for the song, and it follows the footsteps of ‘Balam Pichkari’ (Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani) in being a Holi song which is silly and catchy at the same time. The way the trio has creatively joined the mukhda and antaras to the hookline with the smooth tempo change, is really fun to hear. The line “subah Ke baje chaahe paanch, chaahe paanch, saade paanch” serves as a tempo changer as well as a seamless bridge to the hookline. Arrangements excel, with techno sounds, dholaks (Sanjeev Sen),the aforementioned shehnaai (Omkar Dhumal) and the percussion conducted by Nikhil Korpade, all sound cool together. The brass band, which is kind of essential in most modern-day Holi songs, has been nicely placed too. Meet Bros’ vocals sound great, as always. I like how both their voices sound like one, every single time. 😀 Khushboo, who impressed in ‘Girl I Need You’ (Baaghi) earlier this year, impresses here too, but in a totally different manner. She sings in so many different voices, sometimes high pitched, and sometimes low. It is really remarkable how she does those variations, because she never showed her versatility before ‘Baaghi’! Last but not the least, Kumaar’s lyrics are fun to hear. They are not too nonsensical, but they at least appeal and don’t come across as disgusting. After all, this is Kumaar’s forte! An insane Holi track, that will get India grooving next spring!! Meet Bros. Anjjan have showed immense versatility in this one album! You must hear this one and you have to pagalon sa naach (dance like idiots :p ) after that!!#5StarHotelSong!!

Jeet Gannguli takes over to wrap up the album, with a song that is supposed to be the climax song of the movie, another title song. The first title song by Meet Bros. Anshan was a soulful, haunting number. However, here, Jeet takes us back to 2006-2007 and composes a wonderfully nostalgic number. The song has been composed like a club number, full of pain and sorrow, but nevertheless making you groove to the beats. It falls into the category of songs like ‘Ya Ali’ (Gangster), with numerous techno beats accompanying a purely soulful, yet upbeat composition. Jeet has tried his hand at this, I think for the first time after ‘Blood Money’s ‘Jo Tere Sang’. In fact, the song sounds a lot like ‘Jo Tere Sang’. However, I loved it. Jeet’s composition being so nostalgic, turned out to be an advantage for it. It takes you back to those days when Pritam and Himesh would rule the music industry with these songs. The little couplet sung by Shrey in the beginning, is wonderfully composed, but who would know that it would make way for an electrifying composition! The mukhda is instantly likable, as is the hookline. The main reason is the dynamic arrangements. They are just too groovy. Jeet has composed the first antara as a replica of the mukhda, while the second has Akriti singing a beautiful and soulful tune, that you are surely going to love. While Shrey’s parts have been heavily accentuated by techno club sounds, Akriti’s are minimally decorated, just by soft strings and a loop of electric guitar riffs. Jeet tries dubstep successfully in the first interlude, accompanied by marvelous strings. Ankur Mukherjee’s guitars are beautifully placed in the song, and sound beautiful. To write about the vocals, Shrey sounds very, very much like Atif Aslam, so much so that I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference if Atif himself sings another version of the song later on. Akriti seems to have sung in an uncomfortably high pitch, but nevertheless, she sounds beautiful. Manoj Muntashir, yet again, writes wonderfully romantic lyrics which do have a bit of a climactic tint in them. A song PERFECT for the climax of the movie. Jeet takes us back to 2006/2007 with a wonderful clubbish intense romantic number, which he does beautifully. Both singers are awesome in their rendition, while Jeet’s arrangements just take the song higher!#5StarHotelSong!!

Junooniyat was an album I was expecting not more than three-four great songs. And what a surprise when I get exactly four good songs, the remaining two failing to offer much. Meet Bros. Anshan show immense talent in versatility by composing a party number, an intense romantic track that might even put stalwarts to shame and a Holi number, all in one single album! Time for them to come and compose solo for an album now after their debut ‘Isi Life Mein’ (also their only Solo album, I think!!). Jeet goes diplomatic with one mediocre song and one brilliant song. Loved the way he chose the 2000s path to give a mind blowing climax song. However, the winner of the album, hands-down, is Ankit Tiwari, the chap who has troubled us a lot previously, and decided to come and impress again this year. After great songs, one each in ‘Airlift’ and ‘Do Lafzon Ki Kahani’, he highly impressed with his single song in ‘Junooniyat’. But that single song is what stands tall in front of all the other songs! With that, I must say, this junooniyat (passion)was worth hearing! It is full of passionate romance, and fanatically passionate dance!!

Veerappan is an upcoming Bollywood biographical crime/action/thriller film, starring Sandeep Bharadwaj, Sachiin J. Joshi, Usha Jadhav and Lisa Ray in prominent roles. The film is directed by Ram Gopal Varma, and produced by Raina Sachiin Joshi. The movie is a biopic of bandit Koose Muniswamy Veerappan, dominant in the Sathyamangalam Forest in the states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala, and it revolves around his life and the events leading to Operation Cocoon, the mission to capture and kill him. Ram Gopal Varma had directed a Kannada movie named ‘Killing Veerappan’ that released earlier this year, but this, he claims, is not a remake of it. There are absolutely no hopes from the music of a gangster film, more over, a Ram Gopal Varma film, and it shocked me to see Jeet Gannguli as one of the composers. He has one song in the album, and the remaining three tracks are by duo Sharib-Toshi, from whom I’ve stopped expecting good music after ‘1920 London’ and ‘Housefull 3’. They have actually composed only one song, in two versions, and the third song is a remake of the superhit ‘Khallas’ (Company) by Sandeep Chowta, who I’ve credited, but T-Series hadn’t. So. Let’s check this small album out, and I’m starting with the least of expectations.

Jeet Gannguli gets to start off the album with his sole composition in the album. He decides to create a folkish song that is very perfect for a song that is being sung at some type of celebration at a gangster hideout. Folksy woodwinds kick start the song, followed by a catchy folk string instrument (probably rabaab). I must say, Jeet has made a great attempt at giving a perfect gangster song, that would suit the theme of the film. However, the composition gets very boring after the mukhda. The hookline has no spunk, and the antaras are lifeless, with no actual tune to really make them catchy or appealing. The variations in the tune actually work against the song. The first antara, is very stale, while the second is at least decent. The “Chalat raho, ladat raho” chants are pretty irritating too. Mohan Kannan’s brilliant and energetic voice seems to infuse a god amount of life into the lifeless composition, but it still falls short of the standard. There are so many different voices, that I doubt Mohan sang it all by himself. The saving grace of the song is Jeet’s awesome arrangements. He has put in all his efforts to make the song sound genuinely gangster-ish, and his efforts have bore the desired fruit. The various sound effects, and the string instrument, percussion and woodwinds, all stand out beautifully. Especially the strings and percussion. Interludes are gripping and frankly, it is just the arrangements that make you hear the song multiple times. The rock guitars added in places are commendable. Manoj Muntashir’s lyrics go well with the composition and the theme of the movie, but I don’t know why he wrote about the “Muchhi” (Moustache). Looking at the poster of the movie and Veerappan’s appearance though, that’s reasonable! 😂 A great attempt at something different from Jeet Gannguli. Arrangements are spot-on, while in the other departments, he needs to make some serious improvement! Fantastic attempt considering that it isn’t Jeet’s forte!

Here come Sharib & Toshi with their first song in the album. The song has been included in two versions in the album, and what I don’t understand is, why!!????!! Is it just to force us to hear the pathetic song twice? I don’t know, but it sure seems so. The song is an attempt at creating something scary and frightening, but it comes across as cheap. First of all, Payal Dev in a screechy voice, trying to sound like Monjulika (Heck, Monjulika sounds better!) is not the usual idea we have of a gangster theme song. She has tried with all her might to be as cheap as possible, and I am pretty sure she won’t try such a song again. If she does, I have no comments. 😛 Sharib-Toshi’s base composition is really bad, and it has literally nothing to like, except maybe the hookline. The hookline has actually been composed seriously. Everything else has been composed like they are deliberately trying to be scary. Every time Payal comes to sing her parts, a different weird tune has been composed for each part. And guess what, her parts are reprises of children’s nursery rhymes! Manoj Yadav has just spoiled so many kids’ childhood! Take this: “Lalla Lalla Lori, Khoon Ki Katori” and “Jungle Jungle Baat Chali Hai Pata Chala Hai, Veerappan Khoon Karne Ko Nikala Hai”. I don’t feel like giving more examples. I mean, how are these lyrics even approved? Another line blatantly goes, “Narsanhaar Ki usey lagan Hai”. I’m like “Okayyyyyyy….?” And then they shamelessly use the “Shiva Mrutyunjay Mantra” at the end. 😂😂 The mantra which was so beautifully used in two songs of ‘Neerja’, now gets to feature in a BEAUTIFUL song of ‘Veerappan’! Congrats! 😒😨 Arrangements are slightly okay, compared to the rest of the song. The hookline has a groovy beat to it with manjeeras and tablas. The rest of the song has techno sounds, an overdose of EDM, ghouls screeching (ghouls have become a prominent musical instrument nowadays, I guess! ) and lions roaring. And one guy who keeps yelling “Rrraaa!” The “Rap Version” just has some rap by someone called Vee. (What if that’s Veerappan himself! :O Oh I’m so scared!) The rap is in English and it’s pathetic. “I promise your life will come to an end.” and such is the award-deserving rap. I can’t un-hear that… So I’m rescuing you… Don’t hear it!!

Sandeep Chowta’s ‘Khallas’ (Company) has been featured on this album and there’s another addition to the list of bad remakes. What’s more, this song is what I will call a ‘Copy Remake’. Before you think that I’m stupid, by thinking that remakes are always copies technically, let me be clear. The fact that it is a remake is a different story. The song’s beats have been copied from a song which is not the song of which it is a remake! Yes, you heard me right! The song is a remake of ‘Khallas’ but its beats are the same as the beats of the song ‘Get Low’ from the ‘Furious 7’ soundtrack. That’s why they’re so impressive. That whole Arabic theme and all. But it’s not original, it is ‘inspired’. Speaking about the composition, nothing much new has been added except the antara, which has a boring tune too. What’s worse, Jasmine’s voice serves as a spoilsport for the whole thing. If Asha Bhosle hears it, she’ll be shocked at how they’ve reduced her song to something stupid. The lyrics have been changed for the worse. ‘Ye hai ishq samjha tujhe kar dega khallas’ has been very happily changed to ‘Ye hai maut Teri, tujhe kar hi dega khallas’. Sharib-Toshi’s new composition for the antara is pretty irritating, coupled with the lyrics. And when Jasmine sings it, it is just cheap. ‘Bachke Tu Rehna’ from this song!!!

Veerappan turned out just as expected. Sharib-Toshi continue on their disappointing spree of cheap songs, while Jeet Gannguli actually tries to raise the level of the album! I guess nothing more could’ve been expected from a gangster film, right? Instead of Veerappan, I would call the album Kaayar-appan!! (‘Veer’ = brave, ‘kaayar’ = scaredy-cat 😂)

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